Well That is a great introduction to BMWs....

I hope things are worked out to your satisfaction. If the dealer is worth his money he'll fix this up right for you. Otherwise, as MouthFOF said, you'd be foolish to ever darken their door again.

You do know your V-Strom comment has caused a dozen or so people to cry in their porridge this morning?

Sorry to hear about such a rubbish experience on your first outing... I'd be pretty heartbroken myself...

Presumably you didn't buy this bike from a BMW dealership? If so it would have come with a used vehicle warranty lasting between 3 months and a year. Not to mention it would be less likely that a BMW mechanic would have pinched a gasket or whatever caused the leak. It sounds like a trivial issue with the mechanic, not a failure of the bike, despite being a let down on your first ride. Since you say dealership is one you trust, it would seem to me that you have history with them and it would therefore be in their best interest to make it right.

I bought a brand new Honda a few years back and had the clutch kingpin snap with 23 miles on the clock due to a manufacturing defect. Yes I was annoyed, not least because I had to wait with the bike at the side of the road for nearly 2 hours at temperatures just above freezing for the AA to come and put the bike on a dolly and tow home. But after it was fixed, I had the bike for 4 more years and not a thing went wrong. Doesn't matter who makes the bike or how old/new it is, things go wrong unexpectedly. For reference, apart from a snapped pannier lid retainer cable due to my negligence (which the dealership replaced under warranty) my BMW has been 100% reliable since new and I do a lot of riding off road.

Your OCD is a separate matter completely and not relevant to the issue with the bike or the dealership. Get the bike fixed and go for another ride on it. Consider it a cognitive behavioural therapy session for only the cost of fuel. It will be ok. I can say this because I get the same way with things like electronics (cameras, phones etc)... if I drop it and it gets a scratch or chip, I just want to throw it out... until the second scratch.

Oh my God, there's no milk for my cornflakes. I'm going to kill myself. I cannot go on. Oh, the humanities!

Really?

I understand why it appears this way to other inmates, I'll clarify.

I've run bikes with duct tape holding things on, oil leaks, crap electrics and such. But I didn't pay $12,000 for them. The price vs experience is the issue here.

I had a 450 mile trip planned for today, but instead have a broken bike and a bad attitude. Going to go drop it at the dealer now and the key in the overnight drop off box. I am going to squid it without a helmet and gear so I don't have to lug it home on my walk (another problem, nobody can figure out the right plug for my 2002 Subaru Legacy to wire the trailer.....)

To be fair, any machine repaired improperly will have trouble. Do yourself a favor and give it a second chance.

Good luck with it and I'm sure your second acquaintance with the bike will be more favourable.

As for the trailer connector - maybe this helps?

I honestly feel like this thread is a joke.

If you have a Honda civic with a bad valve cover gasket installed...end result is close to the same.

Donut gasket. A $7.00 part. Not something I have fouled up on either of the boxers I have owned, but I can see how you could knock it loose during cover installation.

I cannot tell if I am seeing messed up paint, or optical distortion due to oil on that lower valve cover area. Don't clean it all up; let the shop see it in failure mode.

I kind of look at this the same way I look at it when someone fails to notice that the old spin-on oil filter left its o-ring behind on the engine when it was removed and the new filter is installed on top of it. Those end up leaking too. Stupid mistake, but people manage to make it. In other words, I see your issue as human-based, not machine-based, so throwing up your hands and running away seems kind of like an uncontrolled emotional outburst. I assume that you looked the bike over pretty carefully and considered its condition, and mileage, etc., and made a deal on it that you were happy with. If that was the case, I would let the dealership do their thing, and if they put the bike back into proper order, not worry about it.

I get the OPs comments. He got a new-to-him bike, and had a miserable surprise on his first ride. Even if the issue is pretty minor to address, it's still a slap in the face and I'd be venting too, to the closest ears that would listen.

My first brand new bike (of non-BMW persuasion) had a ground wire fall off from the frame the first night I owned it, leaving me stranded 50 miles from home. In frustration I was less careful pulling the brand new bike onto its center stand than I should have been, and it made the classic slow right hand fall with me on top of it. Scratching the case on my 50 mile old bike, and getting security out into the parking lot I was at to see what kind of idiot they had to deal with.

It was only a ground wire, but had there been internet at the time I'd have found a forum to "discuss" it...

I rode that bike for a long, long time and it was one of my favorites, scratched side case and all.

Those donuts are like four bucks. Beemerboneyard sells em in bags. In the meantime, wipe everything down, slap that donut back on and take it out for another spin. You're still pretty well set up, anyway, oil smears inhibit corrosion, and the cylinder guard hides the bubbly paint like like it was OEM.

It shouldn't have made it on the showroom floor with that issue. It doesn't matter how cheap or easy it is to replace the gasket. I'd throw a brake rotor through the dealer's window.

Thats a bit like getting an Evinrude powered truck. :eek1

Rotax supplies several hundred thousand boat/watercraft motors per year to various manufacturers, primarily BRP (SEA DOO).

They are supposed to be the best of the best for jet propulsion. My experience was different (blew up from "Oil Starvation") but the oil level was correct and I checked it before each outing.

Not to mention the Rotax/BMW codevelopment jobby in the F-series—actually a fantastic engine.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see a $600 repair here. The bike has an oil leak, but the coil, plug wire, etc. all were working before and should continue to work once the oil leak is fixed. So a new spark plug gasket, possibly a new valve cover gasket, and possibly some minor cosmetic clean up.

- Mark

I feel your pain OP.

With that said, it appears to be a relatively simple fix, which the dealer should fall all over himself to rectify. If it was something major - like something actually broken - I'd be right there with you on not wanting to keep the bike. But with this.....let them fix it, and see if you can shame them into giving you new pants.


Sent from my iPad, probably while I'm pooping.

You suspect the dealership made the mistake and they are going to charge you for the repair? Is that an accurate assessment, or do you not know yet?

If this is accurate I don't care who you went to high school with they are unethical and do not deserve your business.

You are quoting the wrong guy. I am the guy with the problem, the other poster was telling me that the cost would be lower.

To be clear, again, I trust this dealership, this is a mistake not intentional. I trust they will repair it, but it seems the design is poor if it is that easy to goof it up.

It would be in their best interest to take it back as I want them too, as I am purchasing 3 motorcycles this summer. They don't want to cross them off my list of potential sources (and the lines they carry).

Absolutely correct (I would hold in reserve the right to break the dealers windows...and I would NEVER use a BMW brake rotor...they're waaaaaay too expensive...a cheap rock will do) depending on how the selling dealer handles the complaint/failure. Here is an opportunity for a good dealer to serve the customer. If the dealer doesn't step up, I would make it well known to the motorcycle community and consider litigation in small claims court.

If the dealer does step up, we should know about that, as well.